Pope Leo XIV recently published the Encyclica Magnifica Humanitatis. I cannot stop thinking about the great similarities between Star Wars and its topics. In the Encyclica, he lays out the most important challenges that humanity faces under the new tools of information, including Artificial Intelligence as well as present wars and conflicts, within the historical context the Church has lived over the last century, and giving continuity with the previous Encyclicas. The summary he gives of the most important themes of the latest Encyclicas since Leo XIII helps center the place of this latest one. It also helps contrasting the priorities that the various conclaves deemed most important in each of the latest decades or eras. Clearly, the curia sees AI as one of the most important challenges of our time.<\/p>\n
I do not intend in this text to prescribe how accurate that analysis is. As usual in Encyclicals, it addresses several themes in a very general or abstract way, which makes it difficult to understand its application or its position on more specific issues. For example, it rightly mentions that modern media is often subject to misinformation and to major biases that difficult dialogue. Likewise, it mentions that the underlying narratives of transhumanism and posthumanism are based on an anthropological vision contrary to that of the Church. However, it is not clear how this principle should be applied, given that proponents of those theories have their own dogmas and interests. In particular, as far as the monetary benefits of new technologies are concerned, it is not clear what mechanism would allow us to move toward a more humanitarian or even egalitarian balance, although it is evident that we are currently far from it.<\/p>\n
I find the vision it presents regarding the limits of man to be very accurate, since these are often the means of his flourishing rather than to be viewed as a defect. In this same spirit, I find it most relevant the criticism it makes of the negative ways digital media has been used: the trivialization of the body and emotions, manipulation of images and videos, the fostering of addictions among young people, the creation or amplification of dynamics of isolation, etc. In this regard, I applaud the role assigned to the school and the educational system in general, which aligns with JP2\u2019s Ex Corde Ecclesiae vision. In this sense, I found it innovative to propose promoting spaces for silence, reflection and reading, to foster inner freedom.<\/p>\n
The vision of work seems pertinent to me, in that it dignifies man. What seems more delicate is its analysis on market economies. At the end of paragraph 158, it states that theories promising automatic well-being often turn out to be illusory, while at the same time recognizing that economic crises often disproportionately disadvantage the poorest. In paragraph 163, it states that, in the era of AI and robotics, it is no longer possible to rely solely on the “invisible hand.” It would not bother me if we removed the “no longer.” What does this cryptic phrase mean? And more importantly, how should an economy that depends less on the market be implemented?<\/p>\n
In my view, Star Wars offers an interesting perspective on the purpose. Episode I begins precisely with a trade war in the galaxy. Moreover, the intergalactic economy has incorporated AI and robotics as part of daily life. However, in the imaginary world, aliens and machines continue to coexist in an almost organic way. It is, in fact, the lack of a market economy that triggers the fundamental problem, at least initially. In this sense, I think the Encyclica does not clearly point to the market failures that AI and robotics present, and therefore it is even more difficult to understand what an appropriate solution would be.<\/p>\n
I find the comparison of technology with the Tower of Babel brilliant. I thought it was pertinent to point out that the UN and international mechanisms lack real capacity to carry out their mission. Regarding the claim that modern wars seem to be guided almost exclusively by economic calculations, however, I found it unfounded and unsupported by evidence. In addition, it is not clear what the alternative would be, especially when the different parties have strong ideologies or beliefs, including historical wounds, behind them. The call for sound realism and dialogue that seeks negotiation seems indisputable to me, though somewhat idealistic and difficult to implement.<\/p>\n
Finally, the call to prayer, pursuing justice, calling darkness by its name and bringing light instead, maintaining a Eucharistic spirituality, remaining faithful to the truth, and investing in education seems to me like a wonderful starting point. We will have to see what it means for each reader.<\/p>\n
One final minor point: I did not think it was necessary for the Encyclica to ask for forgiveness in paragraph 176. To whom was forgiveness addressed? And what implications does that entail? In my view, it would have been better to omit it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pope Leo XIV recently published the Encyclica Magnifica Humanitatis. I cannot stop thinking about the great similarities between Star Wars and its topics. In the Encyclica, he lays out the most important challenges that humanity faces under the new tools of information, including Artificial Intelligence as well as present wars and conflicts, within the historical …. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralesmendozar.com\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}